Old Home Week
by Qweb
Summary: Danny Williams sees someone from New Jersey that he never expected to see in Hawaii.
1. The Mobster

**Old Home Week**

**Chapter 1: The Mobster**

Leaving one of Honolulu's swankiest hotels after a conference with the head of security, Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett was yanked backwards by a grip on his arm. Detective Danny Williams jerked his partner behind a decorative pillar; then peered around it toward the front desk.

"I don't believe it!" he said in a state of agitated excitement.

"What?" Steve asked.

Danny brushed back his fair hair and scratched his stubbled chin. "It's like seeing the Statue of Liberty set down next to the Arizona Memorial." Before Steve could ask "What?" again, Danny continued. "That older man there, the snappy dresser? He's Gino Sculatti, and I never thought I'd see him outside of New Jersey."

"Gino who?"

Danny rolled his eyes. "Look, I accept that you know the dossier of every major terrorist."

"And most of the minor ones," Steve added smugly.

Danny rolled his eyes again (clockwise, this time). "Then would you accept that I know criminals, especially East Coast criminals?"

"Sure. He's a criminal?" Steve said, nodding his dark head at the older man.

"Where I come from, he's THE criminal," Danny answered with something like admiration in his voice.

"Then let's go talk to him," Steve suggested.

"Let me handle it." Sensing resistance from his boss, Danny searched for a Hawaiian comparison. "Steve, treat this man with respect, as if he's the head of the New Jersey kapu. I'm begging you. Let me handle it."

"All right, Danny." Danny just looked at him. "All right!" Steve reiterated. "I'll follow your lead. What about the muscle?" he asked.

"You can slap them down if they get frisky, but leave the old man to me."

"Okay." Danny looked at him doubtfully. Steve crossed his heart.

"One more thing," Danny said. "Call me Danno in front of this man and I will find a way to hurt you."

Steve hung back as Danny strode toward the front desk, saying in a voice that echoed in the quiet lobby, "Gino Sculatti! I never would have believed it. Imagine seeing a familiar face so far from home."

The dapper man had stiffened at the first word. One of his associates moved quickly to intercept Danny.

"I think you've made a mistake," he said in a gravelly voice. A cane tipped with a faceted crystal the size of a Grade AA large egg came around to tap him on the chest. He shut his mouth immediately, dipped his head and stepped back to let his boss face the detective.

"Detective Williams is too experienced a police officer to mistake me for someone else, Bobby. We've known each other too long."

"Almost ten years, Gino," Danny agreed. "But imagine my surprise to see you here."

"Yes, it is a surprise," Sculatti said, not as if it was an enjoyable surprise. "I had forgotten you moved to Honolulu. Someone should have reminded me." His words were mild, but his three companions winced.

"You knew I'd left town." It wasn't a question. Sculatti kept tabs on all his friends and foes.

"I did, but after you left my, ah, sphere of influence, I'm afraid I lost touch," he said apologetically.

"It happens," Danny replied magnanimously. "I, on the other hand, continue to follow your career with interest."

"Yes, you would." That also went without saying. "I remember now. You moved to be near your daughter. How is little Grace?"

"Getting bigger every day. She got first prize in her school essay contest the other day."

"You must be very proud."

"And how is your family? Gino Junior doing OK in Rikers? He must be about ready to get out." Danny sounded sincerely interested.

"He is. With a favorable parole board, we hope to have him back with us by Christmas."

"That should make his kids happy."

The old man's flinty eyes softened. "Yes. They're looking forward to it. They hardly remember what it's like to have him at home."

Steve didn't like the way Sculatti's three friends were looming over Danny, though Danny didn't seem to care. The height-challenged detective must be used to people looming over him, Steve thought. They were hardly likely to do anything to Danny in a public hotel lobby, but Steve disapproved of the way they were moving to surround his partner. He decided to insert himself into the equation. At 6-1, McGarrett could loom with the best of them.

He stepped forward into an opening behind his partner before the goons could close the gap. One bumped him; then recoiled from the unexpected intrusion.

"Danny, you find some old friends from back home?"

Danny got a warm feeling. It was nice when your partner had your back.

Sculatti regarded this stranger. Steve met the cold gray eyes evenly, with a flicker of a smile at one corner of his mouth. Not a cop, Sculatti assessed, but dangerous all the same. Maybe more dangerous, if he wasn't bound by all those cop restrictions.

"I wouldn't be so presumptuous as to say that Detective Williams and I are friends," the old man said. "Merely longtime acquaintances. Though I have made many gestures of friendship over the years, the detective, alas, has declined to accept any of them."

"Thank you for that," Danny said. "This is my new boss, Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett. Steve, this is Gino Sculatti, president and CEO of Sculatti Family Enterprises, what some people — who don't understand the laws of libel and slander — call the Sculatti Family Crime Syndicate.

"Sorry, never heard of it." Steve shrugged.

Sculatti tensed at this perceived slight. Danny rocked backwards, bringing his heel down gently on Steve's toe, reminding him who was in charge. The detective shook his head.

"No offense meant, Gino. Commander McGarrett isn't a cop, so he isn't in the know."

"I'm still learning," Steve said apologetically.

Sculatti relaxed. "Not a cop?" he asked Danny. "But you're still a detective?"

"It's complicated," Danny admitted. "We're in a new state police task force called Five-0. We look into pretty much anything the governor asks us to. Things like, oh, organized crime."

He smiled brightly at the crime boss. "So, what are you doing in Honolulu, Gino?"

Gravel Voice decided it was time to interfere. "The boss's business is none of yours," he growled. He put his hand on Danny's chest to push him back, and found his arm twisted painfully behind his back.

"Don't touch my partner," Steve said mildly. "You might have cooties."

"He's not a cop, but he's handy to have around," Danny confided to Sculatti, who regarded his man with disgust.

"Did I tell you to touch the detective?"

"No sir."

"Please release him," Sculatti said to Steve. "We're causing a fuss in this fine hotel."

"Since you asked so nicely." Steve released the goon with a shove that sent him several steps away from Danny.

"So, to repeat myself, what are you doing in sunny Honolulu? I never expected to see you any farther west than Camden."

"The younger generation. Always wanting to see something new." The two young men next to Bobby stiffened, as Danny's attention turned to them. "My nephews wanted to hold a business conference with some of our top people and New York City just wasn't exciting enough any more," Sculatti said regretfully.

"Kids!" Danny exclaimed. "At least it gets you out of the jurisdiction."

Steve saw a twinkle of humor in the old man's eyes. Damned if Sculatti didn't like Danny.

"I hope you get to see some of our beautiful scenery," Steve said, fishing for information.

"Steve's practically a member of the Chamber of Commerce," Danny confided.

"We do have a sightseeing trip planned for tomorrow," Sculatti answered, in the tones of someone who was going along against his will. "And a luau for tonight."

"I'll tell hotel security to take real good care of you," Danny promised.

"Yes, I supposed you would."

Danny started away, forcing one member of the entourage to step out of his path. He looked back when Sculatti called him.

"Detective, do you remember that last gesture of friendship I offered?"

"Yes."

"I could still make that happen."

Danny raised his eyebrows. "Even here, Gino?"

Sculatti shrugged. "It never hurts to have friends."

"I think I'll still decline the offer, Gino. It would upset my daughter."

"Your decision."

Steve waited until they were well out of earshot before he asked some of the questions that were bothering him.

"If you're being so respectful, why do you call him 'Gino'?"

Danny shook his head in disbelief. "That's cop protocol. Look, you know we like to call suspects by their first names. We're impolite that way."

Steve understood that. It was a way of establishing dominance.

"OK? So, if I called him Mr. Sculatti or he called me Danny, you'd be sure I was on his payroll. We're respectful, but we're not friends."

"I get it. When he mentioned Grace, was that a threat?" Steve asked. He didn't think it could be or Danny would have gone ballistic.

"No, I said he was old school. He was just being polite. He doesn't go after family."

"And you were being polite, asking about his son?"

"Well, I felt responsible. I was the one who put Gino Junior away."

"And yet his old man is still polite to you?"

Danny shrugged. "It was just business."

"And what was that bit about the gesture of friendship?"

"Ah." Danny paused thoughtfully, rubbing his chin. "When I was in the middle of my divorce and knew I was going to lose Grace, Gino offered to whack Rachel for me."

"What?"

Danny gestured him to keep it down; then shrugged. "He said he could make it look like an accident. All I had to do was call a number and say where Rachel would be, then all my problems would be over."

Steve just stared at his partner who didn't meet his eyes.

"You have no idea how tempted I was, Steve. I hated her so much then, but I couldn't for Grace's sake — and for my own."

"Because he would have owned you."

"He would have owned me," Danny agreed. "And I didn't think I would react well to being owned."

"News flash!" Steve snorted. He didn't need to be told something as obvious as that.

— H50 —

Back at Five-0 headquarters, Danny picked up the phone in his office and dialed a number he didn't have to look up.

"Captain Erickson, please. Tell him it's a voice from his past from Honolulu."

In New Jersey, the graying, lantern-jawed captain punched line 1, "Danny Williams! I thought I'd gotten you out of my hair permanently!"

Two detectives filling out paperwork, looked up as the familiar name resounded in the squad room.

"Hey, cap," Danny answered breezily. "Didn't know you had enough hair to worry about."

Erickson rubbed his shiny dome and smiled. The two detectives chitchatted a bit about family and friends; then Erickson asked the question Danny hated.

"So, what's the weather like there?" the captain said wistfully, looking out the window at a sleety drizzle.

"80 and sunny, another beautiful day," Danny answered as if he was discussing a funeral.

The springs squeaked in his chair as the captain leaned back. "You always were perverse. Most people would be happy to be in sunny Hawaii in mid-winter."

"Funny you should say that," Danny pounced on the opening. "You'll never guess who I saw in Honolulu today."

"What!" When he heard the news, the captain sat up so fast his chair springs rang like a bell. The detectives in the squad room appeared at his door as if they'd teleported. "No, I didn't know. But I should have." Danny heard a threat in his voice that wasn't meant for him. Erickson covered the receiver and said to his men, "Danny says Gino Sculatti is in Honolulu."

"Is he sure?" one detective said doubtfully. Erickson gave him a look. "Never mind. Danny wouldn't make a mistake like that."

The detectives rushed back to their phones to follow up on the strange development.

"No, we hadn't heard," Erickson told Danny. "Thanks for the heads up."

"Sam falling down on the job?"

"Sam's had the flu this week, but that's no excuse for the rest of my people."

"Let me know what you find out," Danny said. He gave the captain his cell number. He paused; then said seriously. "I don't like it, cap. Something is going on. As much as I miss New Jersey, I don't want to import its gangsters to Hawaii."

"I still trust your instincts, Danny. We'll get right on it."

After hanging up, the captain stood in his doorway. "Why is it I need a detective in Hawaii to tell me Gino Sculatti has left town?" he roared.

The detectives pretended to be too busy on their phones to answer.

— H50 —

The captain's callback came the next day.

"Hey, cap," Danny gave his usual greeting, but didn't get any farther. Erickson spoke hastily. Danny's eyes widened. "What? What? But that …" He listened some more. "Wait, let me think." With his hand on his forehead, Danny considered the implications of the captain's news. "It's a takeover. It's got to be. Those nephews of his brought him here to get him away from his loyal troops." Danny sat up straight. "It's a hit! It's gotta be. Not in my town!" he declared; then couldn't believe he'd said that about Honolulu. "Gotta go, cap. Gotta save a gangster."

Shoving his phone in his pocket, he burst into Steve's office. "Come on, we've got to prevent a murder!" he barked. Without waiting for a reply, Danny galloped out the door.

"Governor, I've got to go," Steve said hastily into the landline. "Danny said someone's going to be murdered. No, he didn't say."

He hung up on the governor's, "Go!" His long legs covered the ground as he bounded down the stairs, scattering bystanders. Steve charged out the door, just in time to slap the fender of the Camaro going by. Danny halted impatiently, giving Steve just enough time to tumble in before he hit the accelerator.

The driver of a red Cruze about to turn into the parking garage had to stand on her brakes to avoid the silver bullet flying past.

"That was Danny!" Kono Kalakaua exclaimed; then hit the accelerator in pursuit.

"And Steve," Chin Ho Kelly added as he switched on the lights and siren. He pulled out his phone and called the friend who wasn't driving like a maniac in the car ahead.

"Steve, we're right behind you. What's going on?"

"I don't have a clue," Steve answered. He put the phone on speaker. "Danny, what's going on?"

"Gino Sculatti Junior was shanked in prison this morning. No one would kill the old man's son, unless they were gonna kill Gino, too. I think his nephews plan a takeover, that's why they brought him 5,000 miles from his power base."

"And they were going sightseeing today," Steve remembered.

"That's the perfect time for an 'accident,'" Chin agreed.

Chewing his lower lip, Danny narrowed his focus to the road ahead. His lights and siren were on, but Danny knew the lights in his front grille weren't as visible as the light bar on top of a blue and white. Danny didn't want to save a mob boss at the expense of a mother pushing a stroller across the street.

Steve flinched as Danny took a corner on two wheels.

"Watch out for …"

"I see him," Danny answered. "Do I complain about your driving?"

"Constantly," Steve answered. To be honest, Danny had a knack for driving in traffic, seeming to divine when another driver was about to intrude on his path. Steve would have insisted on changing places if they were on a dirt road, but city streets were Danny's bailiwick. "Tell me why you're about to kill us in order to save a mob boss?"

Danny sighed ostentatiously. "Intel, Mr. Intelligence Officer."

"You mean, you think he'll roll over on his people?"

"If his people betrayed him, yes." Danny bared his teeth in a wicked grin. "I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse. Call Colin and see if he's seen them."

Steve called the hotel's chief of security who had been keeping an eye on Gino since Five-0 warned him.

"Gino and his nephews just went out the back door toward the parking garage," Steve reported.

"Where's Gino's bodyguard?" Danny asked.

Steve warned Colin about the suspected assassination attempt and told him to search for gravel-voiced Bobby. Colin said he'd block civilians from the garage. He also described the Sculatti's rental car.

"There," Steve told Danny. "The black sedan just coming out."

Danny skidded to a halt blocking the sedan while Kono cut to the left to prevent any retreat. The officers took cover behind their open car doors, weapons at the ready.

"Police!" Danny announced. "Gino Sculatti, step out of the car," the detective ordered. "All of you, out!"

The driver, nephew Ricky, made a gesture of protest, as if he might reach for a weapon. From the back seat, Gino rapped his shoulder with his cane. "Behave," he ordered.

Gino got out, arms spread wide, cane held between two fingers. The two front seat passengers got out sullenly, showing empty hands.

"Detective Williams, there must be some mistake. I haven't broken any laws — in your jurisdiction," Gino said with a mild attempt at humor.

"You're the one making the mistake, Gino," Danny said gently. "I'm not arresting you. I'm offering to take you into protective custody."

"What do you mean?" The old man felt his heart clench at the pitying tone of Danny's voice.

"I'm sorry to tell you that your son, Gino Junior, was murdered in Riker's this morning."

Gino staggered and had to put his cane down to the ground to support his weakened knees. "Murdered? Who would …?"

"Who could order a Sculatti murdered except another Sculatti?" Danny answered.

"Don't listen, Uncle Gino," Marco Sculatti said scornfully. "Williams is just trying to trick you."

"Really? Where's Bobby, Gino? Where's your bodyguard?" Danny asked.

Gino looked uncertain. "The boys said he was sick, that raw fish at the luau last night."

"So here you are, without your faithful bodyguard, about to head off into the wilds of Oahu where a corpse might never be found," Steve pointed out.

The old man shook his head in disbelief.

"Steve." Colin came out of the hotel, careful to stay out of the line of fire. "We just found a sick man in their suite. He's unconscious. I think he's been poisoned."

"That's pretty bad fish," Steve said sarcastically.

"You've offered me many gestures of friendship over the years," Danny told the shocked Gino. "Now, I'm offering you one. Come with me now. We'll keep you safe in exchange for information."

"It's a trick, uncle," Marco said urgently.

Danny grinned. "You don't have to tell us anything until you can confirm I'm telling the truth." Gino hesitated. "This is a limited time offer," Danny warned.

Ricky suddenly snarled and, despite at least two guns pointed at him, reached for the pistol under his shoulder. Before he could draw the weapon — whereupon he would have been shot by Steve — Gino brought the weighted cane down on his nephew's collarbone. The young man dropped to his knees in agony.

"Now I believe you're stupid enough to kill my son," Gino said with dignity. "Detective, I accept your proposal. I'll tell you anything you want, if you can protect my grandchildren."

"Already done," Danny assured him. "Captain Erickson sent Sam after them as soon as he heard about Gino Junior."

The old man relaxed. He knew the Jersey detective was reliable. "Ah, Detective Podolski. You must miss your old partner."

"Yeah." Danny's voice went soft as he remembered when life was perfect — when he had a reliable partner, a wonderful wife and a little miracle baby named Grace.

Steve must have heard something in his partner's voice, because he looked over concerned and maybe a tiny bit hurt — because if Steve could recognize Danny's "tones," Danny could recognize Steve's "faces."

"Yeah, I miss Sam," Danny admitted, smirking at Steve. "But the partner I have now is pretty good. He's a little rough around the edges, needs a little work, but he has potential."

**To be continued**


	2. The Partner

**Old Home Week**

**Chapter 2: The Partner**

"Hey, Danny!"

Detective Danny Williams of the Hawaiian state police task force called Five-0 had been doing some research into old files at the Honolulu Police Department. On his way out to meet his boss Steve McGarrett, who had Danny's car — again! — he was hailed by one of the detectives.

Danny veered over to the man's desk to return the greeting. (Steve could wait.)

"How you doing?" the New Jersey native asked.

"Fine, bruddah. Have you heard there's a detective from New Jersey coming to collect that mob boss of yours? Maybe it's somebody you know."

"Gino Sculatti? No, I hadn't heard. Who's coming, do you know?"

Danny didn't know every detective in New Jersey, but Sculatti had come out of his old jurisdiction, so the odds were in his favor.

The HPD detective shuffled through the papers on his desk. "Here. Detective Sam Podolski."

Danny's face lit with pleasure. "Sam! That was nice of the captain to send my old partner."

"You want to meet him? The plane arrives at noon."

"That's less than an hour! Gotta go. Thanks!"

— H50 —

Danny jogged out and slipped into the passenger seat of his silver Camaro.

"Airport," he ordered.

"What?" Steve was confused by the sudden instructions.

"Two syllables, sounds like 'airport,'" Danny answered.

"Why?"

"I gotta meet a plane. Look, either drive or give me back my car. I'll fill you in on the way."

Steve put the car in gear and drove.

— H50 —

On their way into the baggage claim area, Danny purchased a real plumeria lei.

"Wait, what am I seeing?" Steve exclaimed. "Danny Williams bought flowers?"

The detective was placid in the face of his partner's mockery.

"Jerseyans aren't all alike, Steven," he lectured. "I wouldn't have one on a bet, but Sam is a traditionalist. I wouldn't want to disappoint my partner."

Traffic had made them late. They'd hardly waited five minutes before the passengers from the flight began streaming toward the baggage carousel. Steve amused himself by trying to guess whom this Sam Podolski was. He'd settled on a hefty bald man with a beer belly, until two teenage girls ran to him squealing, "Daddy! Welcome home!"

Steve looked back at his partner and caught the moment when Danny's face lit with a welcoming smile, "Sam!"

"Danny!" came the answer in a woman's voice. Detective Sam Podolski was a medium-sized woman with red-brown, shoulder-length hair.

She wore blue slacks, a white blouse and a navy blazer. An overcoat was draped over her arm and she towed a wheeled overnight bag behind her. Her smile of greeting was as bright as Danny's.

He looped the lei over her head; then smashed it with a bear hug.

"I've missed you, partner," he said.

"I've missed you, too." She pulled away wreathed in the fragrance of crushed plumeria. She cupped Danny's chin in a motherly gesture, though she couldn't be more than ten years older than Danny.

"Happy yet, Danny?" she asked softly.

"Happi-er," Danny offered.

"All I can expect, I suppose."

Steve scrubbed his head and looked away, embarrassed. Sam turned to him.

"And this must be the infamous Steve McGarrett. I've heard a lot about you." She held out her hand politely, but her voice was chilly.

"I haven't heard anything about you," Steve answered, taking the hand.

"You mean, he didn't tell you Sam was short for Samantha?"

"No, ma'am," he said, his Navy training taking over.

Sam raised an eyebrow at Danny, who shrugged. "I didn't want him to get a complex about how great my last partner was."

— H50 —

At headquarters, Danny introduced Sam to the rest of the Five-0 team, Officer Kono Kalakaua and Detective Chin Ho Kelly.

"Your partner from New Jersey? Really?" Kono said in delight as she shook the other woman's hand.

"How come everyone knows about Sam except me?" Steve complained.

"I was saving it as a surprise," Danny answered.

Kono ignored them. "Danny's been telling me about some of the things you've faced as a woman detective."

"Prejudice and sexual innuendos and suspects who outweigh you by 200 pounds?" Sam suggested.

"All of that," Chin agreed, because he'd listened to some of Danny's stories, too. "Danny thinks you're a good example for any young woman just starting out on the police force."

Sam regarded the Five-0 crew. Every one of them, even Chin, the eldest, was younger than she. "Well, I've been around the block a few hundred times," she admitted.

Danny nudged her. "But you've still got the moves."

"One thing I get sometimes — and not just from male officers — is comments about me being with three guys all the time," Kono said seriously, keeping her gaze on Sam and avoiding the eyes of her teammates.

Anger flared in Steve's eyes and Danny's, while positive fury raged in Chin's. People had been insulting their rookie.

Sam saw the reaction and sought to diffuse the tension. She waved her hand dismissively. "Oh, you always get that. Some people can't believe a man and woman can work together with sex being involved. Remember Harriman?" she asked Danny.

He wiped the ire out of his eyes and then chuckled. "Yeah, I remember."

"After a stressful case, the guys liked to go out for a beer to unwind," Sam said. "But what I really craved was chocolate."

She and Kono shared nods. There was nothing like chocolate to make a girl feel better.

Danny took up the tale. "So Sam and I snuck off once in awhile and Harriman got the idea we were sneaking off to a motel or something. He talked some of the guys into following us."

"They 'caught' us at Feeney's Ice Cream Parlor eating hot fudge sundaes," Sam said, chuckling.

"So we made Harriman buy a round for the house," Danny concluded with a grin.

Sam patted Kono's hand. "Don't let it get you down. If you're professional, everything else takes care of itself."

"You and Danny never had any problems?" Steve asked.

"Not that kind. I've got a wonderfully understanding husband and most of the time that Danny was my partner he was …" She stopped abruptly.

"Go ahead. I can take it," Danny said with a level gaze. "I used to say it all the time."

Her eyes held his. "Most of the time Danny was my partner he was happily married."

Danny winced.

"Sorry," Sam apologized.

Danny waved it away. "Tell you what, I'll call Rachel and see if I can get Grace for a couple of hours. She'll want to see you and hear about her BFF Annie. That's Sam's daughter," he told the others in an aside, then returned his focus to Sam. "You tell them how you saved my life — without making me sound too pathetic, please."

Sam's eyes were sad as she watched her former partner walk out of the room.

"Is he happy?" she asked the others.

The men looked embarrassed at the idea of analyzing their friend's emotions, but Kono considered the question seriously.

"Sometimes, especially when he's with Grace, but, overall, 'happy' wouldn't be the word I'd use for Danny, no."

"He says he's an angry person," Steve offered.

Sam sighed. "He used to be a happy person. He had everything he wanted, a beautiful daughter, a wife who loved him, a little house with a picket fence, and a job he was good at. And then it all got spoiled." The detective shook her head. "I can't decide if I hate Rachel or just feel sorry for her. Rachel did love him, you know."

"She still cares," Steve said. "We were staking out her next door neighbor. She was really concerned when Danny was over there, searching the place. She rammed her car into a wall to distract the suspects when they came back unexpectedly."

"I never thought she didn't care," Sam answered. "Maybe she cared too much. She was fine until Les was killed. He was another detective in our department. We were serving a warrant and the drug dealers started shooting." Her words became clipped, her sentences short, as if she was rushing through the bad memories. "A shot hit Les in the head. He was killed instantly. He was standing right next to Danny.

"So at his funeral, Les' wife was sobbing in Rachel's arms and the ever-tactless Harriman said, 'Hey, Danny, good thing that shot wasn't six inches to the left or that would have been you.'

"I think the horror of that image entered Rachel's soul and poisoned her. She was always afraid after that. The last straw was when Danny had to go undercover and was out of touch for two weeks. He wasn't in any danger, but we didn't know that.

"Divorce was the only way Rachel could save her sanity, but she ripped Danny's heart out when she left him."

Steve chuckled. "Don't you think that's an exaggeration?"

"If you call yourself a detective …"

"I don't," Steve said hastily, putting out his hands in a warding off gesture.

"He doesn't," Chin affirmed.

"I don't dare," Steve finished with the flicker of a grin.

Sam treated his comedy to a level look; then directed her comments to Kono. Women were the only rational beings. Chin and Steve exchanged an "ouch!" look.

"If you've paid any attention, you must have realized that Danny Williams is a passionate man. I'm not talking about sex, I'm talking about energy, commitment. Danny doesn't do anything halfway."

Steve rolled his eyes. He was starting to seriously annoy Sam.

"Look," Sam insisted. "I've had partners before who would go to the wall for me. Danny would go to it, through it, over it, whatever it took."

Kono thought about Danny moving 5,000 miles, giving up his home and his job, to be near his daughter.

Chin thought about Danny defying the HPD detective bureau to defend a murdered friend.

Steve thought about Danny arguing with him, yet backing him up, even conspiring in a felony, to protect innocent lives.

"Yeah, we know what you mean," he said quietly.

"Then maybe you can understand how much Danny loved his wife. As much as he loves his daughter now, he loved his wife then. He still loves her. He's loyal to a fault."

"It must have been hard when they got divorced," Kono said sympathetically.

"It was hard, but he was getting over it. Divorce is an occupational hazard for cops. But when Rachel remarried and took Grace so far away, Danny was devastated. He …" Sam tried to think how to phrase it. "He alternated between red rage and black depression. The depression won and he got quieter and quieter. I would take his weapon away at night because I was afraid I might not see him in the morning."

"He was so depressed he couldn't see any way out himself. I finally suggested maybe he could get a job in Honolulu, too, and it was like lighting the pilot light in a furnace. Whoosh! The old Danny was back. He started looking and found a couple of openings on the HPD. The cap and I gave him glowing recommendations. We didn't want to lose him, but we knew we already had. Funny thing," she added thoughtfully. "They seemed to be looking for a detective from as far away from Hawaii as they could get."

Probably had something to do with the corruption on the force, Steve thought.

— H50 —

Danny broke the darkening mood, coming in and waving his cell phone triumphantly. "OK, we're set for dinner tonight."

He took in the somber regard of his friends, and turned to Sam indignantly, "That pathetic? Really?"

— H50 —

A while later, Danny was talking Kono through the paperwork for transferring a prisoner — something she hadn't done before. Steve left the office to visit the rest-room and Sam ambushed him when he came out.

Her hip thrust slammed him back against the wall. One hand was on his chest and the other on her gun. Steve hoped that was just habit, but the grim look on her face told him she wasn't fooling around.

"You got Danny shot the first day you met."

"Does he have to tell that story to everyone?" Steve complained.

"Yes. He has to tell me, because you, apparently, don't get it. You went in without backup, against Danny's advice, and you got him shot and your suspect killed. If you'd waited for backup, you might have taken that gunrunner alive and found Hesse all the sooner, before he got on that ship before he escaped through the water. Do you understand? We have procedures for a reason."

"I understand."

Sam sighed. "I wish I thought you did. Being a cop is a dangerous job. You don't need to make it more dangerous. I just want you to remember, if you get Danny Williams killed because of some reckless maneuver, I will come after you."

Steve believed her. "Sam, he's my partner now. I'll take care of him."

"See that you do, McGarrett," she said, and turned away.

— H50 —

The next day, while Danny took Sam and Gino Sculatti to the airport, Chin Ho Kelly walked into a harborside diner to chat with some old friends, who happened to be some of the best informants on the island.

"Hey, Kamekona, howzit?" he greeted his oversized friend.

Kamekona put down the phone he'd just picked up. "Bruddah, am I glad to see you," the enormous Hawaiian said. "I just got the word there's gonna be a hit on some New Jersey crime kahuna on his way to the airport today."

Kamekona was anxious. When he thought of New Jersey, he thought of one of his favorite haoles.

Before Chin could ask any more questions, his phone rang.

"Steve, Danny's walking into trouble!" he said, short-circuiting whatever Steve had meant to say.

"Where's it supposed to happen?" Chin demanded of Kamekona as he put the phone on speaker so Steve could hear.

"Somewhere in the warehouse area, near the docks, where there aren't many witnesses. Around 8th or 9th," the informant guessed.

"Docks." Chin looked out the window at the harbor. "Steve, I have an idea." He raised his voice. "Kimo! I need your boat. Now!" he shouted at one of the men at the lunch counter. The man jumped for the door and Chin ran after him, explaining his plan into the phone.

— H50 —

"You seem more comfortable with McGarrett than I expected from your e-mails, Danny," Sam said. She was in the back seat of the Camaro with Gino, guarding him and watching the driver's back. The Camaro wasn't meant for prisoner transfer, but Gino wasn't considered hostile.

"I'm getting used to him, which scares me sometimes," Danny confessed. "His biggest flaw is that he hates to let me drive," he teased.

The woman snorted. It was her biggest flaw, too. "You ought to be used to that," she said, as her gaze swept across the traffic behind them.

"Yeah, but this is my car," Danny said.

"Danny," Sam warned, as she took another look behind.

"I see them." Danny glanced into the Camaro's rearview mirror. "I make two cars on our tail."

"Shooters?" Sam checked her weapon.

"They're not friendlies," Danny answered. His phone rang and he put it on speaker.

"Danny, they're going to try to take out Gino before you get to the airport."

"Tell me something new, Steve. We've got two vehicles on our tail, a gray sedan and a white SUV."

"They'll probably make their move around 8th or 9th."

"Great, we just passed 6th."

"Head south, Danny," Steve said urgently.

Danny glanced to his left at the not-so-distant glint of the ocean strobing between buildings.

"South? The Pacific is south!"

"Head for the docks on 8th or 9th!" Steve's voice had gone tinny as he activated his own speaker. Danny could hear the sound of the engine of Steve's Silverado and the squeal of tires. He knew his partner was on his way, but the bad guys were a lot closer. And getting closer every minute, as their vehicles began to accelerate.

"This had better not be some psycho super-SEAL scenario," Danny complained, proud of his alliteration at this stressful moment.

"Chin has a plan," Steve answered.

Danny eased back on the gas, timing a break in traffic, then he hit the accelerator hard, cutting across the lane next to him and two opposing lanes. Tires squealed. Brakes screeched. The hit squad roared after them, slaloming around the cars that Danny's move had brought to a standstill.

"Chin has a plan?" Danny responded as he fled toward the ocean. "Oh, good, I have better odds of surviving one of Chin's plans."

"I haven't got you killed, yet," Steve protested.

"It only takes once," Danny said tensely, as he swerved around a truck making a left turn.

"Whatever happens, Danny, stay in the car!" Steve ordered. "Stay in the car!"

Then the conversation cut off.

"Stay in the car?" Sam asked. The normal thing to do would be to take cover in one of the buildings.

"The man said stay in the car," Danny confirmed.

"And you trust him?"

"He's my partner," Danny answered, as if that explained everything. And to Sam, it did.

— H50 —

The Camaro roared to the end of the wharf and skidded to a halt sideways.

Blocking the only exit, the sedan and SUV crept forward, cautious of the Camaro's sudden stop.

Danny looked out the passenger window toward the water. A small boat was approaching at speed.

"If that's your rescue, Steve, I don't think much of it," he muttered to himself.

In the back seat, Sam looked past Gino at the gunmen who emerged from their vehicles. The nine men fanned out and approached, weapons drawn.

"Are you sure about this detectives?" Gino asked calmly. "If you take cover, they might settle for killing me."

The mob boss wasn't afraid to die. His son was dead and his grandchildren might be better off without him. It would be a shame, though, if the detectives' little girls never saw their parents again.

"It's not gonna happen, Gino," Danny answered.

"I've gotta trust my partner's partner," Sam seconded.

"Come on, Steve, don't make me look bad in front of my friends," Danny under his breath.

The gunmen paced closer to make sure of their shots. The powerboat was throttling down, pulling up at the end of the wharf. Danny could see Chin was on it, standing at what looked like a machine gun mount. And then Danny recognized it, just as the long-awaited tidal wave washed over the Camaro.

Arcing over the Camaro, the water cannon on the marina fireboat swept from side to side, washing the gunmen off their feet. The main force of the falling water pounded down on the gunmen, but there was plenty of spillover to rinse the Camaro and the two other vehicles clean.

"It's like being in a car wash," Sam said, charmed by the unexpected. "Good thing we stayed in the car," she added. "That would be murder on a girl's hairdo."

Chin kept up the water flow until Steve's black Silverado bounced to a halt well clear of the spray. Steve swerved the extended cab pickup to block the exit from the wharf, as Chin shut off the water cannon. Steve and Kono piled out of the truck, guns drawn.

"Stay in the car," Sam told Gino as she and Danny emerged from the dripping Camaro.

The flaw in Chin's plan immediately became clear. The water jet had scattered the nine gunmen across the wharf and three vehicles blocked various sightlines. No one cop could keep all the gunmen in view.

"Collect the guns?" Danny suggested, seeing several weapons scattered around the dock.

Steve nodded. "Go," he replied, and gestured for Kono to help.

Danny ventured toward a shotgun near the foot of one of the assassins who was shaking his soggy head as if unable to understand what just happened. Another gunmen sat against the wall nearby, blood streaming from a cut in his head. He looked unconscious, but his hand stealthily moved toward his back where a gun was clipped to his waistband. As Danny turned his attention to the shotgun, the man made his move.

Steve saw it through the windows of the sedan, but couldn't make a shot at the seated target.

"Danny, freeze!" Steve roared and flung himself forward to clear the shot. Still falling, he fired past the front tires of the sedan. Danny felt the bullets pluck the legs of his pants as they whipped past to strike the gunman in his left shoulder, the only part Steve could see.

Then Steve crashed down, shoulder first, onto a protruding bolt holding a stanchion in place. He grunted in pain.

Taking the shotgun, Danny retreated from the gunmen to protect his fallen friend. Sam and Kono formed up with them.

"Great, now we're surrounded," Danny muttered, studying the gunmen who were beginning to recover from the water battering. The cops were still outnumbered and now one was wounded.

"Not a problem," Steve said, as he got up streaming blood from his shoulder as badly as the man he'd shot. "Anybody else moves, shoot him."

"He means that, you know," Danny told the gunmen (and Sam). "He's an animal when you make him mad."

Looking at Steve's cold stare, the gunmen (and Sam) could believe it. The men remained still.

"What do we do if nobody moves?" Sam asked reasonably.

"Shoot them anyway?" Steve offered. Sam gave him a glare as good as Steve's own.

"No? Then what we need is a rover," Steve said. He paused. "I said …"

"I heard you the first time," Chin Ho replied. He came up the final steps of the ladder in a rush, kicking the arm of a man who was cautiously raising himself up so he could retrieve the gun he was lying on. The man fell back to the ground with a thud and found himself looking at the muzzle of Chin's favorite shotgun. "You first," Chin said.

The arrival of two HPD patrol cars put the finish to any further resistance. The gunmen were handcuffed and led away.

The paramedics arrived to treat the man Steve shot. He was then taken away to the hospital jail ward while the paramedics turned to Steve.

"It's always something with you, isn't it?" EMT Absalom Riley said as he cleaned Steve's shoulder wound.

Steve performed the introductions as the woman came up to say goodbye, "Ab, this is Sam Podolski, Danny's partner from New Jersey. Sam, this is Ab Riley, the best paramedic in the EMS."

"As you know all too well," Riley retorted.

"You knew you were going to land on that bolt, didn't you?" Sam said. "You gave yourself up for Danny."

Steve shrugged one shoulder, because Riley was firmly holding onto the other.

"That's what they do," Riley offered. "Danny saves Steve. Steve saves Danny. Danny saves Steve. It was Steve's turn."

Sam nodded. "Then maybe I can trust him to you, after all. You have my blessing, Steve. Take care of my partner."

"He's my partner, too, Sam." They shook hands, then Sam and Gino left in a patrol car with a second car as backup.

"You two made peace, then?" Danny asked, as he came up, rubbing his neck.

"Yeah, I tried to give you back, but she said I could keep you."

— H50 —

**The End**

**Just so you know, I picture Dana Delaney as Sam Podolski.  
>Pretty much the character she played in "Castle."<strong>


End file.
